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Orcixtro Lake

10/16
1998

90 Detroit Jewish News

248-865-0000
Skrx: 48 - 8645 - 0020

Filmmaker Laurel Chiten appears
at the Midwest premiere of The Jew in the Lotus,
her film based on the best-selling book
by Rodger Kamenetz.

Forum/U-M Hillel.
Chiten began her life as the daugh-
Special to The Jewish News
ter of Reform- Jews. She attendecf -holi- •
day celebrations and was bat mitzvah,
obody liked her. Or so,Lau-
but she said, she didn't feel a very
.-rel Chiten thOtight about
deep spiritual .connection.
four Tears age
Before going into filmmaking,
The l3ostori-born Jewish
Chiteiwent
several years as a sign
lm.inaker was trying to tauge interest
language
interpreter,
acting as a go-
M . the_.. first real film she had complet-
k4wfteriALMhearing and soundless
*/'10 .To u.telte's -$449,41e-i -4iPce
worlds.
the narrative-style piece was about a
"There is a similarity between being*
condition from which she suffers, she
a filmmaker and being a sign language
felt wedded to it. So wedded, in fact,
interpreter," she said. "In
that the less-than-glowing
both situations you have to
reception it received made her
Filmmaker
jump
into a situation where
feel that people were just not
Laurel Chiten
nobody
knows each other
interested, in her.
in Dharamsala, and you have to be a conduit
"It was a particularly low
India.
for information and under- .
time," she said. "I quit film-
standing."
making at that point and
Her first foray into filmmaking, a •
'thought, 'That's it.' It was during this
five-part satirical soap opera called
low time that Chiten turned to Bud-
Two in Twenty, which appeared on
dhist thought for inspiration. Out of
PBS,
taught her the perseverance that
that, her next film project was born.
was
necessary
to finish her second pro-
Now Chiten is planning to speak
Twist
and
Shout, the film on
ject,
about that project, the making of the
Tourette's.
It
took
her almost five years
following
a
.film The Jew in the Lotus,
to complete.
7 p.m. screening Thursday, Oct. 22, at
A public broadcasting worker sug-
the United Artists Theatre at 14 Mile
gested
that she take the piece to the
and Haggerty roads in Commerce
BBC,
which
was working on a series I)
Township. The event is sponsored by
on
the
same
topic.
The Jewish News, the Jewish Commu-
"The BBC told me that, yes, they
nity Center and Temple Israel. She
were
working on something; and, no,
also will speak at Ann Arbor's Michi-
they
weren't
interested in my work,"
.gan Theater when the film is screened
she
said.
"I
was
crushed." Looking for
7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in a pro-
inspiration, she logged on to the Inter-
gram sponsored by the Hill Street

j_ILL DAVIDSON SKLAR

,

.